Instagram Now Has a New 'Quiet Mode' Feature As Well As Recommendation Controls

Instagram is unveiling a slew of new features aimed at giving users greater control over the platform, beginning with a new Quiet Mode. The tool works similarly to your phone’s Do Not Disturb option. Instagram will not send alerts to your smartphone while it is active. Your profile will also show a remark indicating that you are “in quiet mode,” and anyone attempting to message you will receive an automated response indicating that you are unavailable.

Quiet Mode can be set to run automatically at various times of day. Instagram will email you a summary of your alerts once you’re outside of those hours. Everyone can use Quiet Mode, but the company says that if it observes kids spending a lot of time browsing through their feed late at night, it will push them to use it. Quiet Mode is now available in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the US, and the UK.

Besides the new mode, Instagram is offering a slew of new features aimed at giving users greater control over the photographs and videos they view on the network. You may now specifically tell the app what sorts of information you don’t want to be recommended to you. Beginning with the Explore page, you may choose numerous tiles and select “Not Interested” to influence Instagram’s content algorithm. This will also have an impact on what you see when you search for content. Additionally, you can add specific terms, hashtags, and emoji you want Instagram to filter for when recommending content, which expands on a capability that was previously accessible for comments and direct messages. You can find it under the “Hidden Words” section of the app’s privacy settings. One drawback is that filters will only operate when the programme identifies the terms in hashtags and captions that you have specified. Finally, Instagram just implemented a feature that allows parents to view their teen’s app settings.

In 2021, Adam Mosseri’s congressional hearing raised the issue of inappropriate recommendations. Members of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security grilled Instagram’s CEO about the content they saw the app lead users toward after creating fake Instagram accounts to mimic teenagers. Utah Senator Mike Lee, in particular, stated that the Explore tab of his Instagram account changed substantially after following a single Instagram-recommended account. According to Lee, the app began recommending messages that promoted body dysmorphia, sexualization of women, and other information that was improper for adolescent females. “It went dark fast,” he stated “.